Sports director Sven Mislintat leaves VfB Stuttgart. The club have agreed with the 50-year-old to end the contract, which runs until June 30, 2023, the Bundesliga club, which is in danger of relegation, announced on Wednesday. “Sven Mislintat has rejected what VfB believes to be an absolutely market-oriented offer to extend the contract,” the club’s statement said.
Mislintat’s split is not unexpected. A farewell was considered likely, but the talks had last dragged on. “Ending the negotiations now is a joint decision by all those responsible,” said CEO Alexander Wehrle. After around three and a half years, Mislintat, who started with the Swabians in spring 2019, is over. “I very much regret that, because VfB has become a matter close to my heart in recent years and I would have liked to have continued to contribute to the positive development of this great club,” said the native of Dortmund in the statement.
The first of two key personnel decisions at Table-16. has fallen, the head coach question is still open. Interim coach Michael Wimmer loses a prominent advocate with the farewell to Mislintat. The 42-year-old, who took over from the suspended Pellegrino Matarazzo in mid-October, was Mislintat’s favourite. An external solution for the head coaching position was also discussed and should continue to be so. A solution should be found by the end of the vacation for the VfB pros on December 12 at the latest.
Mislintat’s transfer policy has recently been viewed critically
Mislintat, who once made a name for himself as Borussia Dortmund’s chief scout, is very popular with many fans despite the difficult sporting situation again. Almost 12,000 supporters had recently signed an online petition for the native of Westphalia to remain at VfB. However, Mislintat’s relationship with Wehrle is said to have been strained since mid-September at the latest. At that time, the CEO committed the former world champions Sami Khedira and Philipp Lahm as advisors and the former VfB captain Christian Gentner as the future licensed player boss – apparently without consulting Mislintat.
In Stuttgart, Mislintat initially formed a successful trio together with Wehrle’s predecessor Thomas Hitzlsperger and Matarazzo. In addition to some successful transfers such as Silas, the Japanese World Cup participant Wataru Endo or the Austrian national striker Sasa Kalajdzic, who has meanwhile moved to England, Mislintat also signed a number of talents who did not develop as hoped.
His transfer policy was recently viewed more critically than Mislintat was previously used to at VfB. However, the club also had to sell top performers several times to compensate for losses during the corona crisis.
